Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Matt is an unusual person in the context of his community’s culture.

• What qualities make Matt different from most of the people around him? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three distinct examples of Matt’s characterization that show he is unusual for his community.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how Matt’s character supports the novel’s thematic concerns with Mercy and Difference and Diversity.

2. Blue is the only color the people of Kira’s community do not know how to make.

• What is the symbolic meaning of the color blue in this novel? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence, drawn from different places in the novel, that support your interpretation.